This miraculous appearance of the Mother of God occurred in the mid-tenth century in Constantinople, in the Blachernae church where her robe, veil, and part of her belt were preserved after being transferred from Palestine in the fifth century. On Sunday, October 1, during the All Night Vigil,…
The Holy Apostle Ananias of the Seventy (October 1), was the first Bishop of Damascus. The Lord ordered him to restore the sight of Saul, the former persecutor of Christians, then baptize him (Acts 9:10-19, 22:12). Saul became the great preacher and Apostle Paul. Saint Ananias boldly and openly…
Saint Romanus the Melodist was born in the fifth century in the Syrian city of Emesa of Jewish parents. After moving to Constantinople, he became a church sacristan in the temple of Hagia Sophia. The monk spent his nights alone at prayer in a field or in the Blachernae church beyond the city. Saint…
Saint Savva of Vyshera was the son of the noble boyar Ivan Borozda of Kashin. From his youth Savva was noted for his piety. As a young man, he was attracted to monasticism, and he was tonsured in one of the monasteries at Tver. Then he settled in the wilderness (later called the Saint Savva-Tver…
Saint Domnίnus was from Thessaloniki and lived at the end of the III century (circa 288). When Maximian Galerius (258-311) was building royal palaces in that city, the Saint was arrested as a Christian and for preaching the Word of God. He was brought before Emperor Maximian, who demanded to…
The Monastic Martyr Michael was the Igoumen of Zobē Monastery (Μονή Ζώβη), near Sebastopol in Armenia. There he labored in asceticism with thirty-six other monks at the end of the VIII century, during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VI and his mother Empress Irene. When the…
Saint John Koukouzelis, a native of Dirrachia (Bulgaria), was orphaned in childhood. Endowed with a very fine voice, he entered the Constantinople court school. He found favor with the emperor John Comnenos (1118-1143) and became a chief court singer. The sumptuousness and luxury of the imperial…
Saint Gregory Domesticus (leading chanter) was the contemporary of Saint John Koukouzelis, and lived in the Great Lavra of Mt. Athos in piety and asceticism. Like Saint John, he also sang in the right choir in the Great Lavra, and was even called Gregory Koukouzelis in honor of his instructor.…
The Feast of the Pskov-Protection Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was established in memory of the miraculous deliverance of Pskov from the invading troops of the Polish king Stephen Bathory in 1581. During the siege, they carried forth the wonderworking Dormition Icon of the Mother of God in…
During the reign of King Aderki of Kartli, the Jewish diaspora in Mtskheta learned that a wondrous Child had been born in Jerusalem. Then, thirty years later, a man came from Jerusalem to deliver this message: “The youth has grown up. He calls Himself the Son of God and preaches to us the New…
The Gerbovets Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was acknowledged as wonderworking in the year 1859, but it was revered by believers of the Kishinev diocese even earlier. According to Tradition, this icon was brought to the Gerbovets monastery (Bessarabia, Romania) in the year 1790.
The Barsk Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God is an ancient icon of Byzantine origin from the Barsk monastery in the Podosk diocese. The icon was historically venerated as holy by both Orthodox and Catholics. The solemn celebration was established in 1887.
The wonderworking Kasperov Icon of the Mother of God is a great sacred treasure of the cities of Kherson and Odessa, where it is kept for about six months a year. The days of its arrival at Odessa (October 1), and of its departure – on the fourth day of Pascha (Bright Wednesday) – have become…
After the repose of Catholicos Simeon, leadership of the Georgian Church passed to Catholicos Melchizedek I. Saint Melchizedek led the Church from approximately 1010 to 1030, during the reigns of Kings Bagrat III, George I, and Bagrat IV. It is believed that Saint Melchizedek was the first Georgian…
October 1 commemorates the transfer of the Terebovlya Icon of the Mother of God from the town of Terebovlya to Lvov in 1672. This icon of the Most Holy Theotokos originally appeared in the principality of Galich during the time of the Terebovlya princes, in the thirteenth, or perhaps as early as…
1. The Protecting Veil of the Most Holy Mother of God.
The Church has always glorified the most holy Mother of God as the Protectress and Defender of the Christian people, entreating, by her intercession, God's loving-kindness towards us sinners. The Mother of God's aid has been clearly shown times without number, both to individuals and to peoples, both in peace and in war, both in monastic deserts and in crowded cities. The event that the Church commemorates and celebrates today proves this constant protection of the Christian people by the Mother of God. On October 1st, 911, in the time of the Emperor Leo the Wise (or the Philosopher), there was an all-night vigil at the Blachemae church of the Mother of God in Constantinople. The church was crowded. St Andrew the Fool for Christ was standing at the back of the church with his disciple Epiphanius. At four o'clock in the morning, the most holy Mother of God appeared above the people with a veil spread over her outstretched hands, as though to protect them with this covering. She was clad in gold-encrusted purple and shone with an unspeakable radiance, surrounded by apostles, saints, martyrs and virgins. Seeing this vision, St Andrew gestured towards it and asked Epiphanius: 'Do you see how the Queen and Lady of all is praying for the whole world?' Epiphanius replied: 'Yes, Father; I see it and stand in dread.' As a result, this commemoration was instituted to remind us both of this event and of the Mother of God's constant protection whenever we prayerfully seek that protection, that shelter, in distress.
2. The Holy Apostle Ananias.
One of the Seventy, he was bishop in Damascus. In response to a vision from God, he baptised Saul, the future Apostle Paul (Acts 9), and courageously preached the Gospel in the face of all persecution, for which he was stoned to death in the city of Eleutheropolis. His holy relics were taken to Damascus, and later to Constantinople.
3. Our Holy Father Romanus the Melodist.
Born in the Syrian town of Emesa, he served as a verger first in Beirut and then in Constantinople at the cathedral, in the time of Patriarch Euphemius (490-96). Illiterate and with no musical training, he was despised by certain educated clergy. St Romanus prayed weeping to the Mother of God, and she appeared to him in a dream, held a piece of paper out to him and told him to swallow it. The following day was Christmas Day, and Romanus went up to the ambo and, with an angelic voice, sang: 'Today the Virgin which has come down to us as the Kontakion of the Feast. All marvelled at the words of the hymn and at the singer's voice. Receiving thus the gift of song from the Mother of God, Romanus composed more than a thousand kontakia. He died as a deacon of the Great Church in Constantinople in 530, and went to join the angelic choir.
4. Our Holy Father John Kukuzelis.
A Slav from Dyrrachium, he was taken as a young man to the School of Music in Constantinople, where he became a popular singer at the imperial court. Feafing the flattery and praise of men, he fled to the Holy Mountain and presented himself at the Great Lavra as a shepherd. As shepherd and monk, he lived in rare asceticism, and the Mother of God appeared to him twice. He entered into rest in the twelfth century.
5. Our Holy Father Gregory.
A monk of the Great Lavra in the fourteenth century.
